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China is giving a dramatic facelift to the Potala Palace, former home of the exiled Dalai Lama, as part of Beijing's efforts to protect the most lucrative and culturally sensitive symbols of the restive region.

If the exiled Dalai Lama is permitted to return to Tibet it is highly unlikely he would be allowed to live in his traditional home, the 1,300-year-old Potala Palace, officials said Tuesday.

Seal of the govern-ment of Nepal

Following the May 31 forced deportation of 18 Tibetan refugees from Kathmandu by Nepalese authorities working in collusion with the Chinese Embassy, an international campaign of governmental and non-governmental approaches

China revealed for the first time Tuesday that the Dalai Lama was invited to return to Tibet in 1989 to attend the funeral of an important Tibetan Lama, but he turned down the opportunity.

The Chinese national flag is hoisted with the famed Potala Palace as background on Tuesday Aug. 26, 2003 in Barkhor in Lhasa, Tibet, far west of China. The Potala Palace was once the center of the Tibetan government and winter residence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Look one direction over the rock and mud walls of Tibet’s oldest building, and the gold and olive-coloured barley fields look like mats padding the Yarlung Valley, the cradle of Tibetan civilisation.

In a press release issued today by the National Democratic party of Tibet here at Dharamsala, an immense grief and condolence have been expressed to the victims and relatives of the terrorist attack in Mumbai few days back.

A police officer stands guard at the huge silk portrait of the Sakyamuni Buddha with incense burned on a hillside above the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2003 in China. Thousands of pilgrims climbed the hillside to view the 42 meter-high portrait, or tanka, which was unveiled in a ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Buddha. The ceremony has been performed annually at the monastery since the 15th century. Photo by Eugene Hoshiko

The Dalai Lama has preached nonviolence, urged cooperation between China and Tibet and expressed views on countless global issues. But for the record, he has taken no position — pro or con — on customer management software.